That was the message this week from the volunteer team at the charity that put together the town’s most ambitious feast of arts and culture in living memory.

But it stressed this week that it relied on the Dereham area public and business community to commit their future support to the biennial event.

And it issued an appeal for new blood and sponsors to come forward to start preparing for the 2014 festival.

Dereham Festival 2012 ended last weekend after nearly 20 musical and entertainment events held over a month and a Community Festival running in tandem that featured many more activities in villages as well as the town.

Festival chairman Jim Stebbings and community co-ordinator Brigitte Morton thanked the thousands of people who had bought tickets for events, the sponsors and the core of six volunteers, plus an array of other helpers, who had made it possible.

They said the main festival, which had cost some £40,000 to stage, had just about broken even, although the organisers had had to dip into their spare cash to help meet unexpected extra costs. “We will pay all our bills but we have used up our reserves,” said Mr Stebbings.

Apart from bringing exciting, quality performers to the town, he said, both festivals had boosted the local economy by drawing in visitors from across the eastern counties, had involved lots of young people from schools and colleges and had provided a showcase to audiences and artists for the recently-refurbished Memorial Hall, where many concerts took place. “People have come along, seen the hall and been amazed. And the performers said they were very happy with the hall,” said Mr Stebbings.

He added: “We have moved Dereham Festival to a new, higher level that will be challenging to maintain. But it is too well established now

at that new level to let go.”

In recent weeks the Times has been contacted by a number of festivalgoers – including people who had travelled some distance – curious as

to why there were so many empty seats at some events.

While some performances, including the one by globetrotting harmony act Blake and the Dereham’s Got Talent! competition final, achieved

capacity or near-packed houses, others struggled to meet the organising team’s targets. There were dozens of empty seats for the show

starring internationally-famous magician Paul Daniels – one of the headline acts at the festival.

Mr Stebbings said some attendances were the cause of great disappointment despite the festival’s achievements. An example was the poor

I went to one of the shows which was excellent. The festival seemed well-organised and run by people that genuinely had the town's interests at heart. Let's hope it continues! (although I do question the judgement of Paul Daniels as a headline act - I expect a majority of the population are too young to know him and of those that do, I know many that passionately don't like his act.)